That's my story: Just call me Mr. Sleep Deprived. I fully participated in the worst health risk of tango. No longer, but I was too tired to tango. That doesn't mean I stopped tango! I tried to stop in 2017. But instead, I just started dancing at earlier events. Presently, I go to a practica in my town that has great dancers and starts and ends early. I started a Facebook group called Early Milonga Enthusiasts in my town (please copy the idea in your town). I now go to encuentroswhere the timing is always an early milonga and an evening milonga that does not go so late. I sleep in as much as I can on these weekend encuentros. But I'm not "too tired to tango"--during an encuentro! I dance for as much as 8 hours of tango. My Fitbit, worn on my ankle, indicates I walk for over 5+ miles (8-10 kilometers). The point of good sleep is that we are NOT too tired to tango! Sleep and tango are buen amigos! "Tango culture" is sometimes mistaken for foolish fatalism: Drinking and driving, smoking, extremely high stilettos, bar fights, and sleep deprivation were all part of tango culture at one time. The only thing on this list left is probably out of ignorance. Sleep deprivation from start times makes no sense for anyone aware of what we have learned in the last ten years about sleep. Sleep deprivation creates a high risk of a wide range of diseases from a weakened immune system. Future generations will just shake their heads at the "old milongueros" who died early. Oh, no. They didn't die early? Some lived long, but their stories of dancing all night and then working all day as simply scientifically impossible, machismo stories. I feel wonderful and refreshed after dancing for hours too, but like other mortals I still need sleep. So do you.

1 comment:

Re: Earlier milongas - Earlier or later simply depends on the number of sleep hours that are needed ...and the personal best-liked time of day ...and the age of the dancer. Since all of us have different needs for complete "regeneration", there is no one-size-fits-all number. It's best to self-evaluate and attend events that work for yourself as a unique individual.

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